N.B. The section on the Lowe Hotel in Point Pleasant, WV that was originally published here has been moved to my article, “13 Southern Rooms with a Boo.”
Museum of the Albemarle
501 South Water Street
Elizabeth City, North Carolina
Preserving and interpreting the history and archaeology of the thirteen northeastern counties of North Carolina, the Museum of the Albemarle hosted a different type of digging last weekend. NC Paranormal Research was digging for ghosts within the museum. While the article, appearing in Popular Archaeology, doesn’t present exactly what kinds of activity are happening at the museum, a bit of sleuthing uncovered a couple articles discussing activity.
The museum is the northeast branch of the North Carolina Museum of History and has been open since 1967. Originally housed within an old state highway patrol station, the museum recently constructed a new building adjacent to the waterfront. It also is next to a cemetery. Combined with the mass of antiques and artifacts housed within the museum, this may be to blame for the activity within the building.
Fred Fearing was a local historian and raconteur. In retirement he’d created an organization called the Rose Buddies, which hosted small parties for boaters visiting the port where he’d present a rose to each woman visiting. A museum supporter, he spent a great deal of time at the museum where he reminded the staff that they would not have to spend money after his death. After his burial in the adjoining Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery, he would haunt the museum and protect the museum and many of the items he’d donated.
Not long after Fearing’s death, a visitor to the museum encountered a gentleman at the museum. He was holding a rose and told her stories from the town’s history. After speaking to her, he turned, walked down the hallway and disappeared. Other times, a gentleman has been seen within the museum. An article from the Norfolk, Virginia, Virginian-Pilot reveals that some evidence was uncovered by the investigators, but doesn’t reveal specifics.
Sources
- “Ghosts in the Nation’s Attics?” Popular Archaeology. 13 September 2013.
- Hampton, Jeff. “Deceased historian reportedly haunting E-City museum.” Virginian-Pilot. 29 October 2010.
- Hampton, Jeff. “In the spirit of things at Museum of the Albemarle.” Virginia-Pilot. 23 September 2013.
- Kelly-Goss, Robert. “Haunted Albemarle: Are the area’s halls of history haunted?” The Daily Advance. 27 October 2012.
- Museum of the Albemarle. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 23 September 2013.
Interesting and Great story I am from Elizabeth City, NC. And I have been inside of the museum.
Where do you get help if you are experiencing more than just a mere haunting .I can’t even sleep at night from getting tormented by something.